VINACHEM

Gold rose the most in a week afterdata showed China’s inflation accelerated more than estimated inJune, boosting demand for the precious metal as a hedge.

Gold for immediate delivery climbed as much as 1.5 percent,the most since July 1, to $1,255.18 an ounce and traded at$1,253.57 by 12:21 p.m. in Singapore. Prices climbed 1.1 percentyesterday as the Dollar Index declined from a three-year high.

China’s consumer price index rose 2.7 percent from a yearearlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said today, comparedwith a median estimate of 2.5 percent in a Bloomberg survey.Bullion slid 23 percent last quarter as some investors lostfaith in the metal as a store of value and Federal ReserveChairman Ben S.Bernanke said the Fed may slow asset purchasesthis year if the economy continues to improve.

“Gold’s a long-term asset for us and it’s an insuranceagainst stocks and bonds and inflation and the system goingamok” Michael Cuggino, who manages about $14 billion of assetsat Permanent Portfolio Family of Funds Inc., said in a BloombergTelevision interview. “You’ve got an issue that’s got to bedealt with at some point and that’s why you want to hold gold,”he said referring to inflation.

Assets in the SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s biggestexchange-traded product backed by the metal, have slumped 30percent this year to 946.96 tons yesterday as global equitiesrallied and the unprecedented money printing by central banksaround the world failed to spur inflation.

Inflation Outlook

Expectations for increases in U.S. consumer prices, asmeasured by the break-even rate for 10-year Treasury InflationProtected Securities, fell 15 percent this year.

Gold for August delivery rose 1.3 percent to $1,251.50 anounce on the Comex in New York, extending yesterday’s 1.8percent advance. Cash bullion of 99.99 percent purity climbed1.6 percent to 255.10 yuan a gram ($1,294.22 an ounce) on theShanghai Gold Exchange.

Silver for immediate delivery jumped 1.7 percent to$19.4316 an ounce, following yesterday’s 1.1 percent advance.Spot platinum rose 1 percent to $1,372.90 an ounce, afterclimbing 2.6 percent yesterday. Palladium gained 0.6 percent to$700.90 an ounce, after rising 2.1 percent yesterday.

Anglo American Platinum Ltd., the world’s largest producer,said about 5,600 workers went on strike at two mines in South Afica. Workers are protesting the suspension of union officialsand also want the company to halt its job-cuts process, thecompany said yesterday.